When my mom uses her mortar and pestle to crush almonds, some of the crushed pieces fly out of the mortar. Also, when she crushes chili peppers, the smell of the mashed peppers irritates her eyes. To address both of these problems, I decided to build a cover for her mortar. I used a small pizza box as the cover. A pizza box is good because the sides are folded, fitting nicely around the mortar. A paper plate cover will also do.

Tools:

Exacto knife or box cutter

Cellophane tape and stapler

Supplies

Small pizza box [ unused :-) ]

Paper plate

Step 1: Remove the Pizza Box Lid

Remove the lid of the pizza box from the body of the box. Usually, the lid is attached along a perforated edge and can easily be separated by just tearing along the line of perforations. Otherwise, a pair of scissors can be used. No pizza wheel cutter is needed. :-)

Add a few staples to fasten the sides of the box together and form nice right-angle corners. I like to place small pieces of cellophane tape over the staples to avoid any chance of being pricked in the event that the ends of the staples stick out from the cardboard box.

Invert the box and slide it over the top of the mortar to do a quick fit-check.

Step 2: Form the Hole for the Pestle

Remove the box from the mortar and locate the center of the bottom of the box. Using a box cutter or Exacto knife, cut short slits through the center in a star shaped pattern. The length of each slit should be approximately equal to the diameter of the pestle.

Step 3: Insert the Pestle

Place the box on top of the mortar and put the pestle through the slits. Voila! The lid is complete and you are all set to crush and grind food without having pieces fly out of the mortar. Enjoy!

Step 4: Small Mortar and Pestle Cover

My mom also has a small mortar (about 2.5" in diameter) and pestle that require a cover. Instead of using a pizza box, I made a cover using a paper plate. An inverted plastic container or its lid also work great as covers for a small mortar and pestle.

Step 5: Make the Hole in the Cover

Using the pestle as a guide, trace the approximate size of the hole that is needed in the mortar cover. Then, using scissors or an Exacto knife, cut the hole for the pestle.